Genghis Khan, a Mongolian warrior-ruler who consolidated nomadic tribes into a unified Mongolia and whose troops fought from China's Pacific coast to Europe's Adriatic Sea, creating the basis for one of the greatest continental empires of all time. The leader of a destitute clan, Temüjin fought various rival clans and formed a Mongol confederacy, which in 1206 acknowledged him as Genghis Khan (“Universal Ruler”).

My father had been poisoned by a rival tribe. My mother told me my father's enemies were forever the enemies of my own heart. From that day, I would never be a child again.

As the eldest son, Temujin grew up to lead what was little more than an extended family. And on the steppes, a small tribe was weak and vulnerable. To survive, Temujin knew he must forge links with other tribes and there was only one way he could do that.

Her name was Borte, there were only two things to know about the marriage. She was a woman of beauty and the sable fur they gave us was worth of thousand of the swiftest horses .

The great tribes of Mongolia were locked in a spiral of murders and vendettas. There was only one law on the steppes. If a man wanted something, he took it. Now Temujin had something another man wanted. The Merkit tribe had feuded with Temujin's father. Now Temujin himself was in danger. And especially vulnerable was his new wife. The secret history recalls what Temujin, the man who would one day be Genghis Khan, did next.

They had taken my wife, I knew what I have to do.

What Temujin had to do was to escape.

Only a fool fights a battle he knows he can not win.

Wife-stealing was common on the steppes. Borte knew she had no choice but to submit.

I had just one friend that could trust, J. As children, we have sworn a vow of end. It was the most sacred vow of all. We were blood brothers. Our bone that joined our lives as one. With my sworn brother, J, my power had been increased by heaven and earth.